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New Study of Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Says It Costs Jobs

Monday, June 26, 2017 at 2:39 pm | ב' תמוז תשע"ז

A sign that reads “15 Good Work Seattle” displayed in 2014 below Seattle City Hall, right, and the Columbia Center building, left, after the Seattle City Council passed a $15 minimum wage measure. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

SEATTLE (AP) - A new study of Seattle’s $15-an-hour minimum wage law says it costs jobs, contrary to another new study released last week.

The Seattle Times reports a University of Washington team found the law boosted pay in low-wage jobs since 2014 but that it also caused a 9 percent reduction in hours worked. For an average low-wage Seattle worker, that’s a loss of about $125 per month.

The study says there would be about 5,000 more low-wage jobs in the city without the law.

Seattle was one of the first U.S. cities to adopt a $15 minimum wage law. It is raising the minimum to $15 by 2021.

A review last week by University of California at Berkeley economists found the law raised pay without hurting jobs in the restaurant industry.